Andrea Riseborough

Andrea Louise Riseborough (born 20 November 1981) is an English actress and producer. She made her film debut with a small part in ''Venus'' (2006), and has since appeared in more prominent roles in '' Happy-Go-Lucky'' (2008), '' Never Let Me Go'', '' Brighton Rock'', ''Made in Dagenham'' (all 2010), '' W.E.'' (2011), '' Shadow Dancer'', '' Disconnect'' (both 2012), ''Welcome to the Punch'', '' Oblivion'' (both 2013), '' Birdman'' (2014), '' Nocturnal Animals'' (2016), ''Battle of the Sexes'', '' The Death of Stalin'' (both 2017), '' Mandy'', '' Nancy'' (both 2018), '' The Grudge'' and '' Possessor'' (both 2020).

Outside of film, Riseborough received a BAFTA nomination for her portrayal of Margaret Thatcher in the television film '' The Long Walk to Finchley'' (2008), and won critical acclaim for her performances in the Channel 4 miniseries '' The Devil's Whore'' (2008) and '' National Treasure'' (2016), as well as the BBC One miniseries ''The Witness for the Prosecution'' (2016). Her stage credits include August Strindberg's '' Miss Julie'', Shakespeare's ''Measure for Measure'' ( Theatre Royal, both 2006) and Anton Chekhov's ''Ivanov'' ( West End, 2008).

Early life

Riseborough was born in Wallsend, near Newcastle upon Tyne, the daughter of Isabel Johnson, a secretary, and George Riseborough, a car dealer. She grew up in Whitley Bay. In reference to '' The Long Walk to Finchley'', she has described her parents as "working class Thatcherites."

At an early age, she appeared at the People's Theatre, Newcastle upon Tyne, in the play ''Riding England Sidesaddle'' by Christopher Goulding, as Celia Fiennes, and was a member of the Young People's Theatre for five years. Riseborough spent her schooldays at the independent school, Newcastle upon Tyne Church High School on Tankerville Terrace in Jesmond. She graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in 2005 and is a member of National Youth Theatre.

Her younger sister Laura Riseborough, also a pupil at Newcastle Church High School, studied acting at Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and the East 15 Acting School.

Career

Riseborough appeared in the 2010 films ''Made in Dagenham'' and Mark Romanek's adaptation of '' Never Let Me Go''. She starred in the US premiere of Alexi Kaye Campbell's ''The Pride'' at the Lucille Lortel Theatre in January 2010. The production was directed by Joe Mantello and co-starred Hugh Dancy and Ben Whishaw.

She appears in Rowan Joffé's film adaptation of '' Brighton Rock'' alongside Helen Mirren and John Hurt. She worked with ''The Devil's Mistress'' author Peter Flannery on his screenplay based on the life of Angelica Fanshawe with Michael Fassbender. She played the role of Wallis Simpson in '' W.E.'', a film directed by Madonna. She stars alongside Michael Sheen and Iwan Rheon in '' Resistance'', an adaptation of an Owen Sheers novel. The film was released on 25 November 2011.

She writes with her creative partner, actor Tom Burke, and with Mike Leigh. Riseborough starred with Alexander Skarsgård in the thriller '' Hidden'', a low-budget film directed by The Duffer Brothers. '' Hidden'' was released for streaming September 2015.

She appeared alongside Tom Cruise in '' Oblivion'' (2013), in a supporting role.
She co-starred in the acting ensemble of '' Birdman (or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)'', which won the Oscar for Best Picture at the 87th Academy Awards. Riseborough also shared the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture for the film.

She co-starred opposite Steve Coogan in apartheid drama ''Shepherds and Butchers'' (2016).
She joined the cast of Netflix's '' Bloodline'' for Season 2, as a series regular character, Evangeline.

She acted as Emma Stone's love interest in the biographical sports film ''Battle of the Sexes'', based on the 1973 tennis match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs.
She appeared as Stalin's daughter in the 2017 comedy-drama film '' The Death of Stalin'' and was praised by '' Variety'' for the "shrewd, multi-layered complexity" of her performance.

She starred opposite Garrett Hedlund in Andrew Heckler's indie feature '' Burden''.
She was cast in ''Waco'', a six-part television series about the 51-day 1993 standoff between the ATF, FBI, and David Koresh's Branch Davidians at Waco, Texas. The first episode was released on 24 January 2018.

Riseborough has been cast in Lone Scherfig's '' The Kindness of Strangers'' as an ER nurse who runs an eclectic therapy group. The film started shooting at the Russian Tea Room in the spring of 2018.

She starred in a Sony remake of '' The Grudge'', opposite Demián Bichir and John Cho. The film was released on 3 January 2020.

Riseborough starred in the international cocaine trade drama ''ZeroZeroZero'', an eight-part series adapted from the book by Roberto Saviano, which had its debut on Sky in the UK and Amazon Prime in the US in 2020.

She starred in '' Possessor'', directed by Brandon Cronenberg from a script he wrote about Tasya Vos (Riseborough), an agent for a secretive organization who uses brain-implant technology to inhabit other people's bodies, driving them to commit assassinations for the benefit of high-paying clients. The film had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2020.

Acting credits

Film

Television

Theatre

Awards and nominations

References

External links

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Andrea Riseborough
at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art

{{DEFAULTSORT:Riseborough, Andrea
1981 births
Ian Charleson Award winners
Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
English film actresses
English stage actresses
English television actresses
English radio actresses
English voice actresses
National Youth Theatre members
Living people
Actresses from Newcastle upon Tyne
English Shakespearean actresses
21st-century English actresses
Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Screen Actors Guild Award winners
Theatre World Award winners